Practical advice

Student monthly budget estimation

• Housing* (including water and electricity):  500 to 800€
• Insurance (home, civil ability): 20 to 45€
• Medical visit (to your ‘referent doctor’): 20 to 25€
• Food 250€
• CROUS restaurant at ÉNSA Versailles: 60€ (=20 meals x 3€)
• Transportation: 40€
• Phone / Wifi connection: 25€
• School supplies 40€

* Rental accommodation: security deposit corresponding to one month’s rent is usually asked in advance to be paid in addition to the first month’s rent.

Opening a French bank account is highly recommended for foreign students stay for more than 6 months of study.

It is very convenient and enables you  :

• to pay bills (electricity, telephone, housing rent)
• to pay subscriptions (transportation, Wifi connection).
• to cash any wages, you receive
• to be reimbursed immediately for healthcare expenses.
• To avoid international transfers and cash withdrawals abroad, which may vary noticeably from one bank to another.

Other services offered by French banks also include:

• home insurance
• civil ability insurance
• supplementary healthcare insurance.

All students in France must register for “Securité sociale”, the French healthcare system which is free but mandatory in high education application.

For non-European students and European with the S1 form (EU/EEA and Switzerland), the affiliation can be done online:
https://etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr/#/

You don’t need to register if:
- you are European student and have an European Health insurance card (EHIC) - you are Quebec student arriving with the SE 401-Q-106 form, on an exchange program.

How does “Sécurité sociale” work?

Sécurité Sociale provides students with health coverage while studying in France by reimbursing 30 to 70% of their medical expenses. To increase the amount of reimbursement in your health expenses (up to 100%), you may take out supplementary health insurance, or “mutuelle santé” but it is not compulsory.

How to benefit of your reimbursement?

After completing your registration online, you need to open an Ameli account on ameli.fr or Ameli mobile application.

You can order an Ameli card known as “Carte Vitale” from your account and declare a ‘ referent doctor*’.

You must use your Ameli card when visiting a doctor, buying prescribed medicines and for medical tests.

Important: It is advised to declare a “referent doctor”, known as “médecin non conventionné” or general doctor who charges for only 20 to 25€ per visit. Private doctors “médecin conventionné” may cost you up to 90€.

You will have to pay in advance for your medical expenses before receiving your reimbursement from your health insurer at the end of the month.